Structural toy airship



March 3, 1931.

R. E. CONWAY STRUCTURAL TOY AIHSHIP Filed July 14, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ya 5 1 WM 7 j Patented Mar. 3, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROBERT E. CONWAY, OF HAMMOND, INDIANA, .ASSIGNO R, BY MFE I'SNE ASSIGNMENTS; TO THE METALCRAFT CORPORATION, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI,- A CORPORATION STRUCTURAL TOY AIRSHIP Application filed July 14, 1928. Serial No. 292,658.

This invention relates generally to structural toys and more particularly to toy airships.

The primary objects of the invention are to provide a structural toy airship consisting of a. plurality of pieces which may be readily assembled to form a complete miniature airship, said pieces being detachably secured so as to enable the dismantling of the toy.

Further objects of the invention are to form a toy airship consisting of a. plurality of body sections adapted to be detachably assembled to form the body of the airship and to provide aseries of pieces representing fins and engine and control cars which are adapted to be detachably secured in appropriate positions on the body portion.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a structural toy airship, the body of which comprises a series of spaced-apart disks of varying diameters and a plurality of sheet metal sections disposed longitudinally of the airship and detachably secured at their ends to said disks to form the shell of said airship, the ends of the airship being formed by suitable cone-shaped members either in one piece or sectional, and detachably secured to each end disk.

Additional objects of the invention are to provide an all metal toy airship formed of sectional sheet metal pieces, and to provide separate securing means for attaching said pieces together in assembled relation, the

front end of the airship consisting of a single' piece cone-shaped member attached in position by 'a tie rod having a projecting front end to form a mooring eye, the rear end of the airship comprising a series of tapering sections detachably secured at their bases to the rear end disk and having their tapered ends held together by a. collar carried by one end of a tie rod, the opposite end of which tie rod is detachably secured to said rear end disk.

. With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, Which- 4 i Figure 1 is a side elevational toy airship.-

Figure 2 is a rear elevational View.

Figure 3 is a transverse cross section taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a horizontal cross section taken through the rear end of the airship.

, Figure 5 is a horizontal cross section taken through the forward end of the airship.

Figure 6 is a vertical cross section taken on line 66 of Figure 1.

The present invention consists of a plurality of sections preferably formed of sheet metal adapted to be disposed longitudinally of the axis of the airship and detachably secured together to form the shell therefor, and a series of members mounted exteriorly on said shell to provide the various cars, rudders, and elevator fins. Separate securin'g devices are used to attach the various view of my parts in assembled relation.

Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawings, 10 indicates the body portion of a structural airship, having a front end 11 and a rear end 12. The body portion consists of a plurality of sections 14 formed of sheet metal and tapered toward one end so as to give the airship the desired shape. These sections are arranged in cylindrical series to give the body portionthe desired cylindrical shape and the abutting ends of the adjacent series are detachably secured to a plurality of disks 15 which are spaced apart throughout the length of the body portion and are of varying diameters to correspond to the shape of the body portion which tapers toward each end.

Each disk is provided with a series of lateral extensions 16 arranged annularly, and each extension is provided with a pair of apertures 17 spaced longitudinally. Each section 14 is provided at each end with a pair 1 of apertures 18 arranged transversely of the longitudinal axis of the section and spaced from each other so that each aperture registers with the apertures of the two adjoining extensions 16. Preferably the extensions 16 are formed flat and therefore each adjoining pair of extensions is disposed angularly re1- ntiveto each other," u

In order to provide proper surface contact between each section and the corresponding extensions, each section 14 is bent on a longitudinal center line so as to form the two ture through which passes a tie rod 22, the

outer end of which terminates in an eye 23, while the inner end of which passes through an aperture in disk 15 'a'nd is threaded, for the reception of a nut 24. Thus by screwing said nut 24 against disk 15, cone member 21 is secured in position. An entrance cabin 25 a is detachably secured to cone member 21 by suitable fastening means 26.

'Depending'from the body portion or hull 10 of the airship near the forward end thereof is a control car 27 which is detachably secured in position, by screws 28. The screws pass upwardly through apertures 29 formed in one of the sections 14 and receive nuts 30, thereby detachably securing the car in position. There is a series of apertures 29 provided in said sections so that the position of car 27 may be changed. Cabin 25 and car 27 are'each preferably formed of a single piece stamped and bent to proper shape.

The airship is provided with three engine cars, two of which, 31, are arranged substantially amidship to each side of the keel thereof, wh1le the third car 32 is disposed near the rear end 12 and substantially in vertical plane with the longitudinal axis of the ship. Each engine car comprises a body member 34 formed box-shaped and provided with a de tachable cover plate 35. The side walls of each box member are providedwith a series of apertures or windows 36. Detachable member 351s held in position by a screw 3? which passes through an aperture formed in said member 35 and through an aperture formed in the opposite wall of member 34 and extends inwardly through the hull to an aperture formed in one of the sections 14. This inwardly projecting end is threaded and receives anut 38 by means of which the car is detachably secured in position. A sleeve or spacer 39 of suitable length is interposed between'member 34 and the corresponding section 14 so as to space each engine car a suitable distance from the hull. The end wall of each car 31 is apertured and receives the threaded end of a screw 40 which is detachably secured to said wall by a nut 41. A

propeller 42- is loosely arranged on theprojecting end of screw 40.

The rear end 12'consists of a series of end sections 44 which taper rearwardly and are detachably secured at their bases to a rear end disk 15" by screws 19". The rear ends of members 44 are received in an annular groove disposed sections 44a by a screw and nut attaching means 51. An upper rudder 52 and a lower rudder 54 are disposed in vertical planes at right angles to elevator fins and are detachably secured in position in a similar manner by attaching means 55.

In assembling the airship, the construction proceeds from both ends thereof toward the center. It is necessary to complete the construction of the preceding annular series before proceeding with the next series asit would be awkward to hold the nuts 20 in po sition while turning screws '19 when the next disk is placed in position. Thelast hull section is attached to the oppositely disposed extension 16 of the two adjacent disks and these extensions are provided with threaded apertures 56 so that in attaching this last section it is not necessary to use nuts 21 as it would be impossible to hold the nuts in 130- I sition.

Openings 56 formed in certain of the forward panels or sections 14 represent windows of the observation deck. The length of the toy airship be Varied by adding or removing one or more of the cylindrical series or sections. The number of cars and their positions can also be varied to represent dif ferent makes of airships.

'A toy airship constructed in accordance with my invention is'a faithful reproduction in miniature of a modern airship. It is so constructed that it may be readily assembled and disassembled by'any child capable of handling screw drivers. The structural pieces are formed of metal and are of simple construction so that they will not be damaged in ordinary use. The attaching means are of standard make and both the structural parts and the securing means therefor can be readily replaced if lost. The hull 10 of the air ship can be formed of solid sections which may be either of cylindrical or segmental shape. It can also be formed in a single piece,

While I have shown and described the preferred form of'my invention, it is to be understood that various changes can be made in the construction of my toy airship without departing from the scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. A structural toy airship comprising a rigid non-inflatable sectional body member, a cone-shaped member detachably secured to one end of said body member to form the front end of said airship, a rear end member detachably secured to said body member, a control car detachably secured to said body member near the front end thereof, a series of engine cars detachably secured to said body member, a series of longitudinally and radially disposed fins detachably secured to said rear end member and forming rudders and elevator fins for said airship, and a tie rod for securing said front member to said body member, said tie rod being provided with'a perforate extension forming a mooring eye for the airship.

2. A structural toy airship comprising a series of spaced-apart disks, a plurality of sheet metal sections detachably secured at their ends to said disks to form the shell of the airship, a cone-shaped member detachably secured to the front end disk to form the front end ofthe airship, and a tapered rear end detachably secured to the rear end disk and provided with radially and longitudinally extending fins disposed in vertical and horizontal planes.

3. A structural toy airship comprising a series of spaced coaxially aligned disks having annular laterally disposed extensions, a plurality of sheet metal sections detachably secured at their ends to said lateral extensions to form the shell of the airship, said sections being tapered toward one end and said disks being of varying diameters so as to form said shell tapered at both ends, a cone-shaped member secured to the front end disk, said member being provided with a perforated extension forming a mooring eye, and an elongated tapered rear end secured to the rear end disk, and a plurality of longitudinally disposed radially extending fins forming elevators and rudders for the airship.

4. In a structural toy of the class described, the combination of a plurality of separable sections adapted to form the body shell of an airship, each of said sections being proided with an apertured end, a series of spaced disks disposed transversely within said body and having a plurality of laterally disposed perforate ears, fastening means engaging the co-registering apertures of said sections and said lugs for securing the abutting ends of the respective sections to said ears, a cone-shaped member forming the nose of said airship, a rod having one end seated in the apex of said cone and extending axially therethrough and having its opposite end se cured to the foremost of said disks, a coneshaped member forming the rear end of said airship, an axially extending rod having one end secured to the apex of said rear member and having its forward end secured to the rearmost of said disk, and a plurality of assemblages detachably secured to certain of said sections and representing various external parts of the airship.

5. In a structural toy airship of the class described, the combination of a plurality of sections of sheet material adapted to be assembled to form the shell of the airship, each of said sections having apertured ends, a series of transverse spacers disposed at spaced intervals within said shell and provided with peripheral portions, means for detachably securing said apertured ends of the adjoining sections to the peripheral portion of the respective spacers, a cone-shaped member forming the nose of the airship, a rod having one end seated in the apex of said cone and extending axially therethrough and having the opposite end secured to the foremost of said spacers, a plurality of tapering sections forming the cone-shaped rear end of said airship, the forward ends of said tapering sections being secured to the rearmost of said spacers, and a rod extending axially through said rear end and having its forward end secured to said rearmost spacer and having its outer end in operative engagement with the rear ends of said tapering sections for holding the latter in assembled relation.

6. In a structural toy of the class described, the combination of a plurality of separable sections of sheet material adapted to be assembled to represent the body of an airship, a series of inner spacers arranged within said body, means for detachably securing said body sections to said spacers, a cone-shaped member forming the nose of said airship, a rod having one end seated in and extending outwardly through the apex of said cone and having its inner end secured to the foremost of said spacers, a plurality of tapering sections forming the rear end of said airship, the inner ends of said sections being secured to the rearmost of said spacers, a cap for enclosing the outer ends of said tapering sections, a rod extending axially through said rear end and having its inner end secured to said rearmost spacer and having its outer end secured to said cap for holding said tapering sections in assembled relation, :1 pair of horizontally and longitudinally disposed fins detachably secured to certain of said tapering sections to form the elevators for the airship, an upper and a lower rudder detachably secured to certain other of said tapering sections, and a series of cars detachably secured to certain of said body sections.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature this 20th day of June, 1928.

ROBERT E. CONWAY. 

